PM's operation 'successful'

The operation on Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's left knee, that began at 0955 hours at the Breach Candy hospital on Tuesday morning, ended at 1116 hours. It was deemed "successful."

The prime minister is currently in the recovery room on the second floor of the hospital. He is not being sedated, Home Minister L K Advani told the media at noon.

Both Advani and Information Technology Minister Pramod Mahajan earlier met the prime minister at 0830. Fifteen minutes later, he was wheeled into the operation theatre. Both Advani and Mahajan waited outside the operation theatre, before the IT minister left to brief the media. Also stationed outside the OT through the operation were National Security Adviser and the PM's principal secretary Brajesh Mishra, Joint Secretary Ashok Saikia and OSD Ashok Tandon.

Union Industry Minister Manohar Joshi arrived at the hospital shortly after the medical procedures began, but he was not allowed to go up to the seventh floor. Both Joshi and Harsh Goenka, chairman, RPG Enterprises, waited in the special visitors room set up at the hospital.

Every inch of the area around the hospital was covered by members of the Bombay police force. Sniffer dogs scoured the pavement for explosive devices. Bombay Police Commissioner Mahesh Narain Singh was at the Breach Candy hospital, personally supervising the security arrangements.

Dr Chittaranjan S Ranawat, the surgeon in charge, had a breakfast meeting with his colleagues -- Dr Nandu S Laud and Dr K H Sancheti among others -- at the Shamiana coffee shop at the Taj Mahal hotel where he is staying.

The prime minister had a light meal at 2045 on Monday night -- "nothing special, only hospital food" -- and then met Advani for 15 minutes at 2145. Pre-surgery procedures forbid any intake of food or fluids 12 hours before an operation.